The DDRist Kingdom
by Darkness Shade
Summary: Sequel to Out of the Machine, Ryan and the DDR Crew head towards the DDRist Kingdom to participate in the tournament. What lies in store? Read to find out.....And Terry, I hope it's up to par with the previous one.
1. DDRist Kingdom: The Arrival

DDRist Kingdom: The Arrival  
By  
Sega1cool  
  
  
  
A/N and disclaimer: you know what should go here, I don't own DDR and if I did, who's knows how messed up it might be, as usual it's from Ryan's POV. Without anymore delays.....  
  
  
-----------------  
Jacksonville Pier  
  
  
We had just arrived and were waiting to board the cruise ship that would lead us to the DDRist Kingdom.  
"I'm so excited, just look at all the DDRist's here." Emi said.  
"There's even people here dressed like us." Charmy said.  
"I guess that shows there are people more obsessed with DDR than Ryan." Rage said.  
Needless to say, I gave Rage a look of death and he promptly shut up.  
"So, uh, where exactly do we check in?" Johnny asked.  
"Well, uh, Charmy? What's the card say?" I asked.  
"Depending on me as usual..*sigh*...there is supposed to be some sort of booth, it says its really obvious." Charmy said.  
I looked and then saw a few tables set up, with huge sign above that said 'Check In Here'.  
"Hmmm, wonder how I missed that?" I said.  
Everyone except me fell over.  
  
We walked over to the booth and were greeted by a fairly nice looking girl.  
"Welcome to the tournament check in. If I could get your name's so we can verify your  
participation in the games."  
"I'm Ryan." I said.  
"My name's Sonic." Sonic said.  
"This is Emi and I'm Rage."  
"I'm Konsento and this is Princess-Zukin."  
"I'm Johnny."  
"And last,(A/N:but certainly not least :), I'm Charmy."  
The girl verified our name's on her computer screen.  
"Okay, everything seems to match. Welcome and please enjoy the tournament."  
  
We walked up the gangplank and boarded the ship.  
"Well, as luck would have it, our rooms all seem to be next to each other." Charmy said.  
"Then let's drop our stuff off and explore the ship." I suggested.  
"Good idea." Rage said, starting to walk off, "Uh, which way to the rooms?"  
Everyone sweatdropped and just started walking another way.  
"Wait for me...." Rage said, running after us.  
  
-------------------------  
Out on the Ocean  
  
  
We were on the main deck, looking up at the sky.  
"This world is so beautiful, compared to the one inside the machine." Charmy said.  
"What's it like living in a game anyway?" Sonic asked.  
"It's kinda hard to explain." Emi said, "Most of the time, we just waited to be picked  
by someone while the others just sat there. When they'd shut the machine down for the night, it was just dark and lonely."  
"It was really cold and very unwanting." Charmy said, "But that's the past, we're here  
now and I rather like it."  
I noticed that she had gotten closer to me.  
I...I...I turned red and kinda got embarrassed.  
  
"So, who is this Maximillian Konamison?" Emi said, changing the subject after noticing  
my discomfort or rather shyness.  
"Well," I started, my voice sorta squeaking, "he's the creator of Dance Dance Dance Revolution. He's also one of the best there ever is. But how would he know of me? Rumor has it that he never leaves his island."  
"He had some kind of weird arrow around his neck, what was that about?" Johnny asked.  
"Did it look like this?" I said, pulling one out from around my neck.  
"You've got one of those?!" Sonic asked/shouted.  
"Yep, I got it awhile ago. There's some kinda legend behind it.....Supposedly, (cue spooky drama type music), there are eight magical Millenium Arrows. A long time ago,  
someone tried to use them for evil purposes, but a brave DDRist defeated him and  
sealed the abilities in the eight Arrows. It's basically set up like an arcade pad.  
There's two right, two left, two down, and two up arrows........"  
"So which do you have?" Charmy asked.  
"I have the player 2 right side arrow. I beleive Konamison has the player 1 up arrow." I said, not noticing that Charmy now had a strong grip on my arm.  
  
Emi was resting on the rails and kinda spacing out, when a few figures caught her attention.  
"Wait...that looks like?" she said.  
"Looks like who, babe?" Rage said.  
"Oh nothing. I'm probably seeing things."  
"Oh, okay."  
  
Meanwhile....  
"Damn, that was too close. She nearly saw us." said a girl in jeans, a red shirt and had long blue/black hair.  
"They wouldn't have like it if we had been spotted." said a girl in a black and yellow/gold sailor suit with her hair done up in long pigtails.  
"We should try and avoid heading back there for now."  
"It's best to lay low till we reach the island."  
  
Back with the DDR Crew...  
"Hey look! I can see the island." Johnny said.  
"Man, time really flew. It's already 10 a.m.?" Rage said.  
"How did that happen?" Charmy asked, still grabbing tightly to my arm.  
"The author sped up time." I said, acting innocent.  
"Oh, okay...Wait!" Rage started till he was interupted by the ship's P.A. system.  
Attention all participants: We will be arriving shortly, please make sure all you valuables are packed and you are ready to disembark....I repeat....Please make sure...  
"Guess that means we should get our stuff." I said, dragging Charmy along on my arm, "Wait a minute, why are you latching onto my arm?" I asked.  
Charmy gave me that innocent puppy-dog look and just kept grabbing on.  
"*sigh* Whatever....if it makes you feel happy, I don't care." I said, "(to myself) I'm just too nice, I just can't say no to a girl....I'm such a loser......"  
Charmy seemed to welcome this response and she walked along with me.  
  
------------------------------  
DDRist Kingdom  
  
We had disembarked onto the island and headed towards Konamison's castle, along with the other DDRists.  
Thankfully, Charmy had decided to not latch on as hard and I got feeling back in my arm.  
"Not that I don't mind, but don't you think it's a bit weird? I mean, you holding Ryan's arm does seem strange." Emi said.  
Charmy got this look and then let go.  
"Sorry, I just thought back to the darkness and....I didn't want him to leave without me." Charmy said, seeming depressed.  
"Hey, your here now. And I would never leave you." I said, comforting Charmy.  
After the recommended daily amount of mushy-love stuff, we arrived at Konamison's castle.  
  
Konamison stepped(sp?) outside onto his balcony and began to speak.  
"Welcome, welcome, to the greatest tournament this world will ever see. Now the rules are quite simple. You've been given two arrow chips to start with. Every time you DDR  
battle, you wager chips. If you lose all your chips, you will be kicked off the island. To gain entrance to my castle and a chance to battle me, you will need ten arrow chips total to prove yourself worthy. DDR Machines have been set up all over the  
island and await use by all of you. Other than that, play your hardest and I'll be keeping close attention to your progress. Let the games begin!!!"  
Fireworks then went off and the games were underway.  
  
"So, where should we start?" I asked.  
"Well, your the DDR master. Which way should we go?" Rage asked in a mocking tone.  
"Well, let's head to the South end of the island and work our way around...and quit it  
with the smartass remarks."  
"But Ryan," Charmy said, "Those are the only smart things Rage can say."  
"What?" Rage said.  
Emi couldn't help but laugh, "She's got you there."  
After we all had a good laugh at Rage's expense, we headed to the southern part of the  
island.  
Little did we know what we we're walking into..... 


	2. Old Friends Make Powerful Enemies

DDRist Kingdom: Old Friends Make Powerful Enemies  
By  
Sega1cool  
  
  
Disclaimer and A/N:I know I don't own anything but the story and characters I created.  
As usual, from Ryan's POV.....  
  
  
  
----------------------  
DDRist Kingdom: south  
  
  
We walked until we came upon a clearing.  
"Hey look, some DDR machines."  
Sure enough there was a 4th and a 5th mix, ready and waiting.  
As we walked over, I got this strange feeling.  
You know, the one that something isn't right.  
"I've got a bad feeling about this...." I said.  
"What do you mean?" Charmy asked.  
"I sense some kind of disturbance...."  
Before I could even finish my sentence, a huge cloud of smoke exploded into sight.  
  
"Huh? Someone's emerging from the smoke...." I said.  
It was a girl...wait 4 girls and the front one seemed to be the leader.  
"Alice?" Emi said, "Alice it is you!"  
Emi ran to greet her friend, but I grabbed onto her jacket and stopped her.  
"What are you doing?" she asked.  
"She's different, just look at her eyes. That's not the Alice you knew."  
Alice started to laugh.  
"Hahaha, your just as quick as G.U.N. said you were. While it is good to see you, Emi,  
I'm afraid we must beat you and take your arrow chips."  
"But why? Why did you join G.U.N.?" Emi asked.  
"Let's just say they gave me the power I wanted. Now either battle me and lose, or just hand over your chips."  
Emi didn't seem happy.  
"Emi, you allright?" Rage asked.  
".....Alice? You better get ready to eat those words, cause I'm gonna kick you sorry ass."  
"HA, you have more spirit then I've given you, kid. Let it start."  
  
Emi choose the battle on the 4th mix, as Alice wouldn't be too familiar with this one,  
since she was only in 5th mix.  
"There's something different about that machine..." I said.  
Emi choose her signature song, 'Dynamite Rave'.  
Alice just seemed confident and went about playing it.  
As I was watching, I noticed an extra screen, with the number 2000 on each.  
"What is that?" I thought.  
Things didn't add up, and I knew something wasn't going to go well.  
When the results screen showed up, Alice had managed 5 more Perfects than Emi.  
Suddenly the side of the pad Emi was on was electrified and the number on her side fell to 1500.  
"What the hell was that?" Rage shouted.  
"Oh, I guess you didn't know about that. These are some of the new rules for the tournament. You see those screens, they represent your health points.  
For every difference in perfects there are, the one with less loses that many times  
100 in life points."  
"Something Konamison happened to leave out." I murmurred.  
Emi grabbed the rail to support herself.  
"It's okay, let's go, it's your choice."  
Alice scrolled through the songs and choose 'Hero(Happy Grandale Mix)'.  
Emi managed to keep stride with Alice.  
"You must be feeling tired after that electro shock. It must burn to keep that combo  
going....Damn!" Alice shouted, losing her combo.  
Emi tried her best but soon lost her combo as well.  
When the results screen came up, Alice had 9 more Perfects than Emi.  
"AHHHH!" Emi screamed as the life points were shocked out of her, dropping her to 600.  
"Oh, I'm sorry, did that hurt?" Alice asked in an insincere tone.  
"You'll pay for that." Rage said.  
"Down boy, you'll get your chance."  
Emi knew she had only one chance to try and beat her.  
"I hope your ready Alice." Emi said, "because if you miss this, then you'll be dropped out."  
Emi, if you haven't guessed, choose Drop Out.  
Alice seemed to get it, but she slipped at the jump sections.  
Emi nailed all of them, but lost concentration at the eight steps in the end section.  
As the results came up, Alice couldn't beleive it.  
"No, this is impossible, it can't be."  
"I did it and so you 'Drop Out' you stupid bitch." Emi said before collapsing.  
Emi had gotten 24 more perfects than Alice, who got the shock of a lifetime, as her  
life points went from 2000 to 0.  
"Emi, are you okay?" Rage asked, very worried about his girlfriend.  
"I'll be fine (pant)...just need rest."  
  
Alice just stood there in shock.  
"No, this is inconceivable, I lost and now I'm gonna get kicked off the island."  
I walked over to her.  
"That's what you get for siding with G.U.N. Perhaps you can think over it back on the  
main land."  
Alice handed me Emi's arrow chips and walked off with her dance group, heading back towards the pier.  
I walked over to Rage.  
"Hey, these are Emi's. Make sure she gets them."  
"Okay, thanks dude."  
  
We had set up camp for the night and we're sitting around the fire.  
"I can't beleive she'd side with G.U.N." Charmy said.  
"It's like I said, they can corrupt anyone. This means we have to be extra careful."  
"Ryan's right. If she's here from G.U.N., who knows who else has fallen under G.U.N. control." Sonic added.  
"Anyone of our other friends could have ended up under their control, just like with   
Alice." Johnny said.  
"Well, *yawn* I'm gonna get my sleep. We need to be well rested for our next battle."  
I said, heading towards my sleeping bag.  
The others decided to retire for the night and we let the fire burn out naturally.  
  
-----------------------------  
The Next Morning  
  
As usual, I was the last one to wake up.  
Charmy woke me up as usual, shaking me violently.  
"I'm up!" I said, jumping out of my sleeping bag, knocking over Charmy.  
I stood up and helped Charmy up.  
"Jeez, you sleep too much."  
"Well, you shake me too much."  
We just laughed and headed over to the others.  
"About time you woke up." Sonic said.  
I just ignored him and sat down.  
"So, where to now?" I asked.  
"Well, I heard a rumor that someone in pigtails is causing havoc a little further down the road." Emi said.  
"When did you hear that?" Rage asked.  
"Last night, after you all went to sleep, Alice came back. She told me someone who we  
should challenge was causing trouble and we needed to free her from G.U.N.'s control  
as well."  
"Hmm, pigtails, sounds familiar....well, let's go see who this person is." I said.  
We agreed on this, packed up our stuff, and moved on.  
  
As we approached a dirt road, we noticed a DDR machine on the side of it.  
"What's it doing here?" Charmy said, walking closer to it.  
Suddenly, a guy wearing a suit jumped down and grabbed her.  
"Hey, let go of her." I said.  
"Don't move." he said, pulling a gun on her.  
"Wait I know you, your Akira." Rage said.  
"I must say it's good to see you again, Rage. Too bad it's not under better circumstances."  
"What do you want?" I asked.  
"Your arrow chips in exchange for Charmy's life." Akira demanded.  
I wasn't too happy, but then realized something.  
"Hey Rage," I whispered, "does Akira have a strong will?"  
"No, he usually was bossed around by Charmy or Yuni."  
"Good, let's hope this works."  
  
I walked over to Akira and prayed this would work.  
"You will let her go and give me your gun." I demanded.  
"Ryan, what're you doing? He won't...." Charmy started to say as she was released and  
I was handed to gun.  
"Sonic here," I said, handing it to him, "Dismantle this nasty thing."  
"With pleasure." Sonic said, reducing it to pieces in a few seconds.  
Akira just stood there with that blank look of idiocy.  
"Now, who put you up to this?" I asked.  
"Yuni. She planned this."  
"And where is she?"  
"She is awaiting my return."  
"Good, then head back to her."  
Akira began to walk back to Yuni's location.  
"Okay, guys. Let's follow him and then take care of Yuni."  
  
We followed Akira back to where Yuni was hiding.  
Figures, I thought, she made her base around a 4th mix Plus, her home mix.  
"Well, where are the chips?" she demanded.  
"I, uh, don't have them."  
"What?! You don't have them?! I guess I'll just take yours then."  
"No Yuni, don't. I want to stay."  
I figured this would be a good as time as any to interupt their bickering.  
  
"Not so fast Yuni!" I shouted, trying to sound heroic.  
"You, I should've figured you'd be able to stop Akira."  
"Time to pay." I said, "You tried to kill Charmy, I won't let that go. It's time to D.D.R."  
"Fine, but you won't win."  
I got first choice and choose a song I always AA, 'In The Heat Of The Night'.  
"You won't win." I said.  
"Whatever you say. Nothing can match the power G.U.N. possesses."  
I managed to keep up my combo, even after the one hard part.  
The same couldn't be said for Yuni.  
When the result screen came up, I had 11 more perfects.  
Yuni felt that difference in a huge hit to her life points, dropping her to 900.  
"Ouch! That looked like it hurt." I said.  
"Ugh, you'll pay for that."  
Yuni choose '1,2,3,4,007' as our next song.  
I had done this song many times, so I wasn't worried.  
However, I messed up some how.  
When the results came up, I felt the 8 perfect difference, my points dropping to 1200.  
"Ouch, man, that hurt."  
"Haha, nice try."  
"That's it, time to take you down."  
I choose one of my better songs 'Boom Boom Dollar K.O.G G3 Mix'.  
My speed allowed me to keep the combos up and edge out over Yuni.  
Yuni struggled to keep up and lost her combo many times.  
When the results screen came up, Yuni felt the 35 perfect difference, resulting in a  
lifepoint count of zero.  
"Yeah, I won."  
"No, how?"  
"Just like we told Alice, all the power in the world is nothing without some kind of   
strategy." Charmy said.  
Yuni handed me the two arrow chips I had earned plus the rest that she had taken from  
the others.  
"What are these for?" I asked.  
"To try and make up for what I did. I'm sorry and hopefully I can learn from this. Let's go Akira."  
  
After Akira and Yuni had left, Rage spoke up.  
"Wow, that's helpful. Now we each have 5 arrow chips each."   
"Yeah, but it doesn't seem right." Emi said.  
"No, I think it is. It's some small way for Yuni to attain for her mistakes." I said.  
"Ryan's right, she feels that we may have the chance to win and possible stop G.U.N. so we should use these to succeed and not fail her." Charmy said.  
We agreed on this and decided to set up camp for the night.(A/N: Time moves fast doesn't it.)  
"Man, another two people we knew, both overtaken by G.U.N." Johnny said.  
"They seem to be good at enticing people to join them." Sonic said.  
If only they knew.  
"Well, time to hit the hay." Charmy said.  
"Right!" we agreed.  
As I lay there, I thought how great this was going. But something bugged me.  
How did these G.U.N. DDRists gain access? Could Konamison and G.U.N. be working together?  
I was interupted by my thoughts when Charmy walked over and layed down next to me.  
"Whatcha thinking about, Ryan?"  
"Oh, I'm just wondering how all these G.U.N. DDRists managed to get into this tournament."  
"Oh, well don't worry. If we meet more, we'll just beat like we have. No one can stop  
our power or our friendship."  
"Your right.....jeez." I said, noticing she had fallen asleep.  
I tossed her covers over her and joined her in the land of sleep..... 


	3. Reuniting with Friends

DDRist Kingdom: Reuniting with Friends  
By  
Sega1cool  
  
Disclimer to the A/N: Yo yo, you know the drill. I don't own any of this, and it's from Ryan's POV as usual....  
  
  
-------------------------  
Next Morning  
  
I was the awoken to a lot of noise.  
"Ahh, what's going on? Huh?" I stood up and saw Sonic conversing with someone.  
As I walked over I knew who it was.  
"Hey, look who's finally up?" said a two-tailed fox.  
"Yeah, nice to see you too, Miles."  
"Don't call me that, you know I go by Tails." Tails said.  
"I never got why you don't like your original name."  
"It just sounds strange."  
I looked and notice the others waking up.  
Emi was walkind ahead of the group.  
"Ah, he's so cute!" she shouted, picking up Tails and giving him a big hug.  
"Emi, please, drop him now." I said.  
Emi let Tails go and Tails had this dazed look on his face.  
"Hello? Have you forgotten already? Tails is an anthro as well." I said.  
"Sorry, little guy."  
"..It's...It's allright. No harm done."  
Tails filled us in on how he's been doing.  
"So you've got five arrow chips, too. Is Knux here as well?" Sonic asked.  
"Yes, he's back at camp."  
"Well, let's go meet up with him." I said.  
We packed up our stuff and followed Tails to their camp.  
  
As we walked, I explained what had happend and why the DDR Crew was with us.  
"Wow, that's really bizarre." Tails said.  
"Yeah, but I think it's for the best." I said, hugging Charmy.  
"Wow, you mean you and Charmy..." Tails said, "You dog."  
I as well as Charmy turned red.  
"Wow, they're as red as Knux." Sonic said.  
  
When we finally arrived at the camp,  
Knuckles was packing up the camp when we arrived.  
"Ah, I was wondering when you were getting back....Hey, you brought some friends."  
"Nice to see you to, Knux." Sonic said.  
"Likewise, and good to see you Ryan."  
"Yeah, so, how have things been going for you?" I asked.  
"Could be worse, but its been going fine."  
We chatted for awhile.  
It was good to be with old friends, as well as new ones.  
Knux couldn't beleive the story either, but he knew it to be true.  
"Yeah, I ran into that Alice chick, she was one little bitch, man. She made off with my chips, but luckily Tails gave me two of his." Knuckles said.  
So, Tails and Knuckles decided to join up with us as we made our way through the western part of the island.  
  
As we neared a tree covered plain, we spotted another DDR machine, this time a 5th Mix.  
"I wonder who'll we'll meet next." Charmy said.  
We waited...and waited...and waited.  
"No one is showing up." I said.  
"Well, what do we do?" Sonic said.  
"You get your butt kicked." said a mysterious shadow.  
"Huh? Okay, who said that?" Sonic asked.  
A black hedgehog with red striped fur warped in front of us.  
"I did." Shadow said.  
As usual, Emi went to pick him up.  
"Oh, another cute hedgehog." she said.  
I jumped in front of her.  
"Emi, again, he's an anthro." I said.  
Emi just felt stupid.  
  
I walked over to Rage.  
"Man, Rage. Your girlfriend can be so stupid sometimes."  
"Don't I know." Rage said.  
Charmy was pointing behind me.  
"What?" I asked, turning around.  
Behind me was Emi, quite unhappy at what I said.  
"Uh, Rage, I suggest we run." I said.  
"Good idea." He said.  
We ran with Emi in pursuit.  
"Man, she's your girlfriend, can't you do anything?" I asked.  
"What do you want me to do? Why don't you just use your 'Force'?"  
"She's too strong willed, we're screwed."  
We then noticed we had stopped behind a hill.  
The next thing I know, Emi drop kicks me and I hit the ground.  
Rage wasn't as lucky.  
"You, your supposed to be my boyfriend, I can't beleive you agreed with him." Emi said,  
kicking him and punching him.  
"Exactly, then why are you hurting me?" Rage said.  
"He's got you there." I said.  
"Shut up, you!" she said, kicking me in the stomach.  
I recoiled in pain...Man, for a girl, she can really cause some pain.  
  
Emi walked back towards the others, dusting her hands off.  
"Looks like they won't be trouble for awhile." Emi said.  
Rage and I walked back, limping from our wounds.  
"That's what you get for messing with her." Charmy said, laughing.  
"Hahaha, funny." I said.  
Rage looked like he'd be resting for awhile, so we sat down and talked.  
"So, what's your story Shadow?" Charmy asked.  
"Well, its a long story, but I'll try to make it shorter.......I'm not sure if Ryan  
told you or not, but G.U.N. has been doing some bad stuff lately, including playing  
God by making animals. I was known as Project Shadow, supposedly to be the Ultimate  
Life Form. I was artificially created by Gerald Robotnik, but soon things went sour.  
G.U.N. felt it was out of control and shut it down. They killed everyone, even my best  
friend, Maria, Gerald's granddaughter. She helped me escape before she died....I wandered around Earth for awhile before I met Ryan and Sonic....They were nice guys and we became good friends...then they got me into DDR....and that brings me to here."  
"Wow, Shadow, that's a sad story." Zukin said.  
"Yeah, but that's the past. I've got new friends and a new life. That's all that matters now." Shadow said.  
"So, where have you been for the last five months, Shad?" Sonic asked.  
"Well, I had heard a rumor that this tournament was happening, so for the last five  
months, I've been practicing DDR nonstop. I feel that I'm now the Ultimate DDRist."  
"Sorry, but that title is owned by me." I said.  
"Care to prove it?" Shadow said.  
"Bring it, we'll each wager three arrow chips." I said.  
Shadow and I jumped on the machine.  
"Your pick." Shadow said.  
I choose 'Dam Dariram KCP Mix'.  
"Time to show you my true power." Shadow said.  
I danced through the chaos patterns without breaking a sweat.  
Shadow seemed to be struggling, but wouldn't give up.  
When the result screen came up, we....tied?  
"No way. We tied?" I said.  
"Not bad, human." Shadow said.  
Shadow picked the next song, 'Moonlight Shadow (New Vocal Version)'.  
"Figures, shadow for a Shadow." I said.  
Shadow moved through the runs and gallops like they were nothing.  
I, on the other hand, messed up.  
"Damn!" I shouted when the result screen came up.  
7 perfects behind, and I felt each one, my score dropping to 1300.  
"Ha, pathetic!" Shadow said.  
"You won't beat me next time."  
I choose the last song, the classic 'B4U'.  
"Too easy." I said.  
Shadow just gave me a look of annoyance.  
I hopped, danced, and slid my way to a AA.  
Shadow just looked in awe.  
When the results screen came up, we were stunned.  
Only 7 perfects made the difference, so Shadow and me tied at 1300 each.  
"Well, I guess we're both the Ultimate DDRists." I said.  
"Yeah, your right." Shadow said.  
  
We made camp for the day and relaxed.  
I can't beleive how good Shadow had gotten, he gave me a run for my money.  
I guess five months of practice really helps.  
Shadow's probably more obsessed with DDR than I am......maybe.  
I looked around and noticed everyone had fallen asleep.  
"Man, I'm always the last to fall asleep and then I'm the last to wake.....and then I  
get shaken violently...*sigh*..it could be worse, I guess."  
I laid down, closed my eyes, and dreamt of tommorow....... 


	4. New Rivals?

DDRist Kingdom: New Rivals?  
By  
Sega1cool  
  
A/N to the Disclaimer: Whaz up, peeps? If it ain't mine, I don't own it...Ryan's POV as expected....oh and special appearance by someone, or is it someones......  
  
  
--------------------------  
Awakening  
  
I was falling...the darkness was everywhere.  
"Where am I?" I thought.  
Eventually I hit a hard surface.  
When I walked forward, the darkness shattered and revealed a huge stain glass outline  
of.....Emi?  
"What the hell is going on?" I said.  
I noticed some steps to the right of Emi's picture.  
I figured I might as well take those stairs.  
They led to another stain-glass picture of...Yuni?  
"This doesn't make any sense."  
Suddenly three pillars arose from the ground.  
Choose one  
"Who said that?"  
On one was an arrow, the other my lightsaber, the third a magical staff.  
"Well, better go with what I know." I said, walking over and grabbing my lightsaber.  
The sword, a warrior's invincible courage, the strength to overcome anything....Is  
this what you choose?  
"Yes." I said.  
The lightsaber went into my little shoulder holster.  
Choose another  
"Now what?" I asked.  
No response, so I went to the arrow.  
The arrow, representative of the dance, a symbol of grand agility....Is this what you  
wish to give up?  
"I don't like the sound of that." I said.  
I decided to wait and see about that staff.  
The staff, the inner strength, inner friendships greatest ability....Is this what you  
wish to give up?  
"Yes." I said.  
The staff disappeared and the three pillars shattered.  
"I have a bad feeling about this." I said.  
Then the stain-glass picture shattered.  
  
"Oh, Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhit!" I shouted, falling down again.  
I fell for who knows how long.  
I hit the ground again and this time ended up on a stain-glass picture of.....Alice?  
"Now things are making no sense." I said, throwing my hands up in despair.  
Look Out!  
"Huh?" I said, jumping out of the way as a strange black creature attacked me.  
"What? Take this!" I said, slashing it to pieces.  
Beware, these are the Heartless. Their darkness is powerful....  
More of these freaky things appeared and I dealt with them the same.  
Behind you!  
I turned around just to see a Heartless jump at me.  
I ducked and sliced it in half.  
Suddenly, a new set of stairs led up to another place.  
I followed the stairs, stood on a stain-glassed picture of Charmy and  
then that voice spoke again....  
The light is powerful, but the closer you get to the light, the greater the darkness gets....  
"What the hell does that me...." I started to say till I turned around and saw that  
my shadow had become huge and pretty scary looking.  
"I don't know what you are, but I will defeat you." I said, drawing my lightsaber.  
The only part of his(its?) body I could attack was the hands. It drew back its fist  
and pounded the ground, creating a black vortex. More of those Shadow things  
came out and I mopped them up.  
He attempted to attack me with some kind of darkness attack, but I sent them back at  
him.  
  
Suddenly, the darkness began to engulf everything, including me.  
"Nooooooo!" I said, then that voice spoke again.  
Don't be afraid...for no matter how powerful the darkness gets.....you hold the strongest power of all......  
Then I was engulfed by the darkness....  
  
---------------------------  
DDRist Kingdom  
  
"AH!" I screamed, sitting up in my sleeping bag.  
I was covered in a cold sweat and my heart was racing.  
"What...What was that?" I whispered, not to wake the others.  
I looked at my watch and saw that it was 3:30 A.M.  
"Man, for once, I'm the first to wake."  
I was too freaked out to go back to sleep, so I took a walk.  
  
I couldn't piece together what that dream had meant...but I knew that it was a  
permonition.  
I had been sensing some disturbance in the force, but I couldn't pinpoint what it was.  
I wondered how long it would be before this dream became reality.....  
"You seemed troubled."  
I turned around, expecting to see Charmy.  
Instead a saw a girl, clad in purple robe-type thing(A/N: Behold my descriptive skills!), with long, black hair.  
"Who are you?"  
"My name is Mia, Mia Ausa."  
"Hello, and my name is....."  
"Ryan." she said.  
"Oh? So you've heard of me, eh?" I said.  
"You could say that."  
"So what are you doing here? Isn't a little late for a lady such as yourself to be out?" I asked.  
"Perhaps, but then again, isn't a little late for you to up?" Mia asked.  
"Touche'. Let's just say that sleep hasn't been kind to me."  
"Nightmares, eh?"  
"More like premonitions....but those are my own concerns." I said.  
"No need to get defensive, I did not mean to intrude." Mia asked.  
"It's okay, my fault. This dream just gave me a bad vibe."  
We sat and talked for awhile.  
I learned she was from some placed called Vane...and she was a magic user. She was nice and didn't seem to be much of a threat.  
Yet, she seemed to not be too confident of herself, but then again since she had lived  
in Vane for most of her life, who could blame her.  
I told her about G.U.N. and what they had done to our friends.  
She didn't seem too happy about this, she looked pretty unhappy that people like them  
exist. I wondered.....  
Just as the sun was getting ready to rise, she started to freak out.  
"It was nice talking to you, but I must run. Farewell!" she said, running off.  
"Wait, oh well, Bye!" I shouted back, "I wonder what that was about."  
  
I headed back to the camp and decided to make breakfast.  
"Man, we're getting low on supplies, that could be a problem." I said.  
One by one everyone woke up, except for one person.  
"Talk about irony." I said, walking over to Charmy.  
She seemed so peaceful, just lying there in her sleeping bag.  
Unlike her, I wasn't violent about waking people.  
So, I just knelt down and tapped her shoulder.  
"Charrrrmmmmy....Charrrmmmmy...It's time to get up, babe." I said.  
"HM? Ugh? Oh!" Charmy said, slowly coming around to consciousness, "Ryan?"  
"Yeppers, it's me. You might want to wake up and get some breakfast, you know how the  
others can get around food."  
"Right, okay. Man, talk about ironic....Thanks for being gentle about waking me."  
"Yeah, yeah...its too early for mushy stuff. Just get up." I said, walking off.  
Charmy stuck her foot out and tripped me.  
I fell and shot her a look....but I didn't care, she was just being playful.  
She smiled and helped me up.  
"Your too much, you know that, right?"  
"I think you can handle me." she said, latching onto my arm.  
  
We walked towards the others and sat down.  
Luckily for Charmy, the vultures hadn't eaten all the food.  
"Hey, Ryan? How come you made breakfast?" Rage asked.  
"More importantly, why was he the first up?" Sonic asked.  
"Jeez, you try and do something nice and all you get is the third degree." I said.  
Seeing as I had already eaten, I decided to get some practice in on DDR.  
I walked over to the 5th mix and set up for some doubles.  
"Let's seeeeeeeee.....'Shooting Star' should do for a quick start."  
I started the song and got ready.  
"Like a Shooting Star, burning through the night" I sang, looking like a complete idiot.(A/N: But I am so who cares. (jk))  
My favorite part of this song has to be all the quick eighth steps that transfer from  
the right side of the pad to the left.  
"Yeah, I got an A. Not bad for a warmup song. Time to get serious." I said.  
I scrolled through the lists, looking for a hard one to do.  
Then it hit me, 'Stomp To My Beat'(Maniac-D edit).  
"This is a challenging one, let's show you my moves." I said, sounding as idiotic as   
the announcer guy.  
It was pretty easy in the beginning, even by Catastrophic standards (A/N: Maniac-D is a 9-footer). Yet, the more tiring part is when all the jumps go from right side to   
left, somewhere around 10 or 12, I think, jumps in all combinations.  
I was pretty tired after this one and needed a slow, easy(A/N: By my standards, anyway) song to play.  
"I know the perfect one." I said, choosing 'My Summer Love'.  
"Summer Love, a li, I can feel my heart beating.....I know I'm love with you, gi-rl."  
I sang, once again looking foolish.  
I had fun and was happy to know my Double skills were still good.  
  
I turned around and saw the others, well the DDR Crew, just staring at me.  
"Uh? Guys? What's wrong?" I asked.  
"Ryan, dude. That was tight!" Rage shouted.  
"Indeed, your moves are as quick as mine...Bzzzt." Konsento said.  
"Uh, thanks, I guess."  
"Oh, look, big, bad Ryan is turning red from the compliment." Sonic said, heckling me.  
"Oh, shut up, hedgehog!" I said.  
  
"Not bad....but can you best me in another duel?" said another mysterious voice.  
"What is it with the damn, mysterious voices?!" I asked/shouted.  
"I think your boyfriend there needs some help." Emi said to Charmy.  
"Um...yo...mysterious voice over hear would like to show you his body...if you don't  
mind." said the mysterious voice.  
"Uh, sure, go ahead." I said.  
A man in his, I'm guessing late teens, early twenties...most likely about 20 years old, appeared from the shadows and stood before us.  
He was about my height, maybe a little taller, had his hair in a ponytail and was  
wearing a pair of shades.  
"And who might you be?" Charmy asked.  
"You can call me Terry." he said.  
"Wow," Emi thought, "he's cute!"  
I sensed something about him...it was as if I had met him before....I searched his  
thoughts.....WTF? It was as if there were two minds in one body....AHHHHH!  
"That's what you get for reading my mind without my permission." Terry said.  
"But how did you...." I started to say.  
Something around his waist caught Rage's eye.  
"Hey Ryan, look. Around his waist, that metal cylinder." Rage said.  
I looked and spotted what Rage was talking about.  
Holy Crap! He had a lightsaber, too.  
"But then that means that...." I said.  
"I'm a Jedi." Terry said, pointing at me, "And I want to challenge you."   
"Ha, you can't beat him in DDR." Emi said.  
"Oh no, my little firecracker. I meant a lightsaber duel."  
I was like, you know, bewildered. Who knew?  
I mean, crap man, another Jedi...and on Earth....This was going to be trouble.  
"So, do you wish to except?" Terry asked me.  
"I must, I can't back down."  
  
I drew mine and Terry drew his.  
My lightsaber glowed with a gorgeous blue, while his glowed(A/N: or is it glew?) with  
a serene purple ambience.  
"Nice saber, you make it your own?" I asked.  
"Of course, but I mainly modified my father's."  
"Same here."   
"Ready?" I said.  
"Go!" Terry shouted.  
I parryed a strike Terry had made.  
"Nice one, now try this." I said, giving a quick slashing blow, nearly catching him  
off guard.  
"Not bad. Let's see how you like this." Terry said, breaking our sabers apart and doing a shallow, lunging stab.  
"Whoa." I said, sliding back quickly.  
Good thing I'm so damn agile, or I'd have a nice sized hole in my stomach.  
"All right, not bad. Points for originallity. But now to finish this little exercise."  
I said.  
"Well, let's see what you've got then." Terry said, urging me to attack.  
He asked for it.  
I used my enhanced speed to land a few punches and then, while he was dazed, concentrated and chucked my saber at him.  
"What? Shit!" Terry said, not being able to parry in time.  
The saber hit with deadly accuracy and tossed him up in the air, hitting him multiple  
times.  
The saber then returned to my hand and I walked over to Terry.  
"Finish me...you must...I've lost." Terry said.  
I took my lightsaber and.......oh, the suspense..............................  
  
And sheathed it in my shoulder strap.  
"W...Why?" Terry asked as I gave him my hand.  
"I can't, it's just not in my capacity to kill someone who is not evil. Besides, we   
were just sparring. Didn't you wonder why the saber didn't mame you?"  
"I figured you adjusted the output to merely stun, not to be able to pierce.......I did the same."  
"You seem like a nice guy. Friends?" I said.  
"Sure, friends." Terry said, shaking my hand.  
Terry introduced himself to everyone.  
After the little argument Rage and Emi had, Emi seemed interested in Terry....Lucky dog.  
"So, where are you from?" Rage asked, oblivious as always.  
"Well....let's just say it's a far way away." Terry said, "(to himself)Farther away then they may think."  
"Okay, well, we're just happy to have another friend." Emi said, sliding towards Terry.  
"Uh, thanks, uh, Emi." Terry said, noticing she was moving closer.  
Rage, as usual, was still oblivious.  
"Man, I never seem them this serious of a break-up." Johnny said to me.  
"Yeah, I figured they'd be together forever." I said to him.  
"Well, she has a reason. He did insult him after all." Charmy added.  
  
"Hey, guys, whatcha talking about?" Rage said.  
We sweatdropped and got all nervous.  
"Oh nothing...nothing at all." we all said in unison.  
"Oh, okay." Rage said, just staring into space.  
Poor Rage, he's so oblivious.  
We talked for awhile and I think Rage was starting to figure out what was going on.  
"Emi, can I talk to you?" Rage asked.  
"Sure."  
"I mean in private."  
"Oh, Okay."  
  
"Emi, um, are we, uh, still, you know?" Rage asked.  
"Rage," Emi said with a sigh, "I think we need some alone time to meet new people."  
"But Emi, why?!"  
"It's a number of reasons, but that last thing you said was the last straw."  
"Oh.........."  
"Rage?"  
"..............."  
"Rage?"  
".............okay, I guess......" Rage said, walking off.  
"Rage, wait....." Emi said, but Rage had run out of range by now.  
"Oh, Rage..."  
Terry, that sneaky dude, had been watching what was going on.  
Of course, I had been snooping on both of them.  
  
"Hey, Emi." Terry said, "You okay?"  
"Yeah, Rage just took it a little too hard...."  
"It'll be okay." Terry said, comforting Emi.  
"Oh, Terry...." Emi said, hugging Terry.  
Terry didn't know what to do, so he hugged Emi back.  
Rage had turned around to only see Emi hugging Terry.  
"Emi....*heavy, sad sigh*" Rage said.  
While they were hugging, the sun had begun to set.  
And then it happened.....  
  
....I was watching when Charmy sneaked up on me.  
"Boo!" she said.  
"AH! God, girl. You scarred the crap out of me. Shh, something's going down."  
Charmy huddled next to me and watched.  
As soon as the sun went down, Terry had changed.  
"Wait, that hair, those clothes......the two minds.....Holy Shit! Terry and Mia are one person!" I shouted a little too loudly.  
"Huh? What was that?" Emi said.  
"Terry, do you....." Emi said, when she realized that Terry was now Mia.  
"Ah! Who? What? Where?" Emi said, bewildered.  
"Oh, poop!" Mia said, realizing what had happend.  
Emi was still staring, yet was still hugging Mia.  
"Emi, I know this will sound wierd, but Terry and I are the same, we share the same body."  
"Wha?" Emi said, "well, that would explain why I'm still hugging you."  
  
Charmy and I were standing there.  
"Who's Mia?" she asked, giving me the third degree.  
"Well," I began, "this morning I awoke from a bad dream at about 3:30 A.M. and went  
to think about it. I met Mia or rather she met me. She seemed nice enough and we talked, but then just as the sun was rising, she ran off. This explains why she ran  
off."  
"Oh, okay. Wow, that's very interesting." Charmy said.  
"You didn't think I was cheating on you, did ya? You know your the only girl in  
my life. I got you babe, and you got me, whether you like it or not." I said, giving  
her a kiss.  
Of all the times I thought of my first kiss, who would've guessed I'd be the one to   
initiate it.  
I rather enjoyed it.  
"Ryan...um....that was nice....but, uh, shouldn't we tend to Emi and Mia?" Charmy asked.  
"Right....let's go."  
  
We walked over to Emi and Mia, who were still hugging each other.  
"Hey, Mia." I said.  
"Hello, Ryan." she replied, "It's good to see you again."  
Emi let go when she noticed we were there.  
"...Ryan, um, Charmy....hey. How do you know Mia?" Emi asked.  
I explained it to her.  
"Oh, so the guy that's hot is also a chick....man, what am I to do?" Emi asked.  
"Hey, I won't judge. You like the person that is both Mia and Terry, so go with  
what your gut tells you." I said.  
"Right, but one thing I don't understand. How come you and Terry are in one body?" Emi  
asked.  
"Well....it goes back to two years ago.......I was training in Vane when Terry appeared. He was in town for a local DDR contest. I became good friends  
with him, but we had to keep it a secret, for he had snuck in, not being magically  
endowed...."  
"But what does magic have to do with it?" Charmy asked.  
"Well, only those who have strong magical abilities can enter Vane. Terry had used  
his Jedi mind contol powers to sneak in. I was caught trying to help him escape after  
he had won the game and was accused of cheating....Naturally, no one beleived Terry   
and he attempted to escape. Since I was caught, the ruler of Vane, my mother, was tricked by her assistant to punish us. So, my mother left the punishment up to him.  
He had used a magical spell to combine our bodies and mind.....so during the day Terry  
is in charge, but at night I'm in control of the body....Luckily, there is something  
that can be used to restore us....." she said, pulling two arrows out from a necklace  
under her robe.  
"Millenium arrows?!" Charmy, Emi and I said in unison.  
"Oh, you know of these?"  
"Yeah, I've got one." I said, showing her mine.  
"Wow, that makes things even easier."  
"How come?" Charmy asked.  
"Well, supposedly, as Terry overheard one day, if we can collect all eight of the   
millenium arrows, then their combined power can return us to our seperate bodies....  
that's why we came to this tournament...to try and win Konamison's...."  
"Well," Emi said, putting her hand on Mia's shoulder, "you can count on us for help."  
"Thank you, all of you." Mia said, on the verge of crying.  
We headed back to the others, where Rage was already asleep.  
  
"About time you got back...Who's the chick?" Shadow said.  
"Shadow!" Sonic said, smacking him upside the head, "What did we say about behaving?"  
"You two must be good friends." Mia said.  
Sonic and Shadow looked at each other and laughed....  
...."Wow, so you and Terry are one person. Interesting." Johnny said.  
"I must say, that's almost like Maid/Devil-Zukin was...." P-Zukin(Princess Zukin) said.  
"Bzzzt...that's right." said Konsento.  
"Well, don't worry. We will help you. And we will return you to normal." Emi said.  
"That's just so it doesn't look wierd when you and Mia make out...." Shadow said.  
I promptly smacked Shadow upside the head.  
"Hey, I was going to do that." Sonic said.  
"You snooze, you lose." I said.  
Emi didn't comment and neither did Mia.  
"Hey, it may be Mia outside, but it's Terry inside....and we're understanding people.  
We won't judge." Charmy said.  
We decided to call it a night.  
Emi and Mia went to bed first, followed by Sonic, Shadow, and then the others till   
only me and the Charmster were left awake.  
  
We sat by the fire for about 5 minutes before I spoke.  
"Charmy, that dream I had, it bothers me. These Heartless creatures, they were dark, so emotionless and inhuman. I'm scarred."  
"Oh, Ryan." she said, hugging me, "It sounds heavy but it could be another bad dream."  
"I don't think so, " I said, looking into her eyes, "it seemed to be a premonition...  
and I don't know if I could take losing my friends and more importantly....you...."  
"I guess we'll just wait and see....." Charmy said.  
We sat there for awhile, watching the fire and staying warm.  
I knew trouble lay ahead, if not the near future, but in the future....and that  
scarred me.  
For the first time in my life, I knew what real fear is.  
Charmy had soon been lulled to sleep by the fire's warmth and my company.  
I picked her up and we layed down next to each other, trying to stay warm.  
"Odd," I thought, "it's colder than it should be for this time of year."  
I zipped up the sleeping bag and just listened to Charmy's breathing for awhile.  
Soon, our warmth and her rhythmic breathing lulled me into sleep's gentle caress..... 


	5. Evil's Requiem, AN: I think that sounds ...

DDRist Kingdom: Evil's Requeim (A/N: I think that sounds sinister enough.)  
By  
Sega1cool  
  
Disclaimer raised to the A/N: Welcome, welcome, again I do not own DDR, cause if I did, I be working on a way to digitize myself into 5th mix so I could be with Charmy......Ryan's POV.....Here we Go!....  
  
  
-----------------------------  
Next Morning  
  
  
I awoke again at about, I think 6:00 A.M.  
I wanted to move my arm, but Charmy had it pinned down under her hand.  
I sighed and looked around, the others were still asleep and, as I figured, Mia was  
now Terry again.  
I then noticed something poking me in the back of the head.  
"Huh?" I said, turning my head around.  
"Morning, first up again, eh?" Charmy said, looking at me.  
"Sleep well?" I asked.  
"Yeah, I kept warm, thanks to you." she said with a smile.  
"Whatever, I'm getting out so look out." I said, unzipping the sleeping bag.  
It was chilly, a bit unusual for the time, but I payed no attention to it.  
Charmy was shivering as a cold breeze flowed through our campsite.  
I zipped the bag back up and started walking up a nearby hill.  
  
When I reached the top, I sat down and looked at the sky.  
"Hmmm, those clouds look darker than usual.....Wait, that's a huge storm coming."  
I ran back towards the others as fast as possible.  
I woke them up as fast as I could, by playing DDR Music as loud as possible.  
After a collective "WTF?", I told the others to hurry and grab their stuff, that is  
unless they wanted their stuff to get wet.  
We ran, but the storm was catching up.....luckily we spotted a cave.  
"Everyone, quick into that cave over there." I shouted.  
We all made in just as it let loose.  
  
"It's so dark, what will we do?" Emi said.  
"No worries." Terry said, whiping out a....magical staff?  
"Flame Bomb!" Terry shouted, setting a pile of wood he had collectedon fire.  
"Wow, how did you do that?" I asked.  
"It comes from my, I guess fusion with Mia, I've begun to learn how to use her spells,  
and she's learned how to use my abilities." Terry answered.  
I thought that was pretty tight.  
We sat in the comfort of the fire as the storm raged on, getting worse and worse.  
Little did we know of the plots being born as of now......  
  
-------------------------  
Unknown Location  
  
  
"So, those fools have actually managed to collect some arrows..." said a mysterious  
shadow, looking like a green android.  
"Yes, but they won't be so lucky for long." said another shadow, this one round and egg-shaped.  
"Ha, with the Heartless to help, G.U.N. will overtake the Earth." said yet another,  
mysterious shadow, this one dressed in military fatigues.  
"They are nothing compared to the Dark power of the Heartless and us." said a fourth  
shadow, wearing clothes similar to the previouses, but wearing a half-mask on his face.  
"Just remember, they still have me to tend with for now, so leave it to me...." said  
a final shadow, a man in red dance clothes, with long purplish-grey hair.  
"And you remember," said a new shadow, this one a humanoid robot clad in purple armor  
with glowing eyes, "he cannot get the KEY!"  
The multiple shadow laughed and then dispersed from whence they came.....  
  
--------------------------  
DDRist Kingdom: Northern side  
  
  
We had waited in the cave and yet it continued to rain.  
Charmy had huddled up with me because she was afraid of the lightning.  
"Don't worry, Charmy. We're safe in this cave."  
Just then a huge bolt of lightning let loose and she grabbed me tighter.  
"Charmy, please...let go....can't...BREATH!" I said, loosing the death grip she had on  
me.  
Emi had been with Terry, talking about his past and stuff.  
Sonic, Tails, and Knux were trying to teach Johnny and Rage how to play Duel Monsters  
(A/N: I don't own that.)  
"Like this," Sonic said, "you play the card, lay down what position you want it to be in, and then execute it."  
"Oh, let's see." Johnny said, drawing his hand.  
"All right, Johnny got a good one." Tails said.  
Johnny revealed the card Tails had mentioned.  
"I summon the 'Blue Eyes White Dragon'." Johnny shouted.  
"Nice, but try this." Sonic said, drawing his next card.  
'Perfect', Sonic thought, 'this will stop him.'  
"I play the Toon Town card. And I use this," he said, revealing the dragon capture pot, "to capture your Blue Eyes."  
"Ah, man...." Johnny said.  
Ha, poor Johnny.  
  
"Any idea how long this storm is over?" Charmy asked.  
"Well, seeing as that line of clouds I saw was huge, we're probably stuck here for a  
long time." I answered.  
We just kinda sat there for awhile, not talking, sometimes falling asleep.  
I decided to explore deeper into the cave.  
Charmy had fallen asleep on me, so I took my pillow and layed her down gently.  
  
I walked along for awhile, using my lightsaber as a fancy type of flashlight.  
i didn't see much, just nature at work....till I saw.....  
"What the hell is a DDR machine doing here?" I shouted, seeing a 7th Mix or rather  
DDRMAX2 machine.  
I sensed movement and looked around....didn't see anything.  
Suddenly, a man dressed in some sort of electronic suit tackled me and then ran off.  
"Hey, get your sorry ass back here." I shouted, starting to run after him.  
'Wait,' I thought, 'he wants me to chase after him'  
I turned around and headed back to the others.  
  
I stumbled back and fell over, falling into the fire.  
"Ahhhhh! I'm on fire, help!" I shouted.  
Terry pulled out the staff again and used more magic.  
"Ice Shell!" Terry shouted.  
"This is no time for....." I started to say, till I was encapsulated in ice.  
"C-c-c-can't m-m-move." I struggled to say, fighting to break the ice.  
Thank God I'm a Jedi, no normal person could've survived having to be thawed out.  
"Thanks, I guess." I said.  
"So, why did you come running here so fast?" Terry asked.  
"I...I ran into some guy and a DDRMAX2 machine deep within the cave."  
"A guy?" Charmy asked.  
"Yeah, some creep in an electronic suit."  
"Electronic suit?" Charmy asked.  
"You know him?" I asked.  
Charmy didn't answer me, she just had a concerned look on her face.  
This wasn't going to turn out well......  
  
--------------------------------  
Cave: Deeper Regions  
  
The others followed behind me as I ran towards where the machine was.  
"Where is it?" Charmy asked.  
"Not too far from here." I said.  
I wondered why Charmy seemed so concerned, it was as if she had seen, or rather heard,  
a ghost.  
We walked down and could hear the sounds of the MAX2 machine echoing.  
"We're almost there." I said, running faster.  
We reached the machine.....but no one was there.  
  
I looked around and saw no sign of the guy.  
"I don't see him." I said.  
Terry motioned for me to come over to him.  
"Hey," he whispered, "try to sense him...he's here, just outta sight."  
I tried to search out for his thoughts, he was doing a good job of masking it.  
....Bingo! I got a lock on him.  
"Hey," I whispered to Terry, "I found him. Look there, you can make out his outline."  
Terry searched and could make out a faint outline....he was obviously cloaked.  
  
"We know where you are." I said.  
"So just surrender yourself." Terry added.  
The others looked at us as if we were(A/N: or is it are?) crazy.  
"What the hell are you talking about?" Rage said, "No one is there."  
"Oh really, then watch this." I said, charging the wall that this guy was in front of.  
"What's he doing?" Charmy asked, as I seemed to hit the wall.  
I knocked him into the wall, and he decamoflauged.  
  
"Ow, jeez. I'll make you pay for that." he said.  
"Astro?!" Charmy shouted.  
"What?!" we said.  
"That dude's your brother?" I asked.  
"Nice to see you again, sis." Astro said, "Too bad you still hang around with trash."  
"What happend to you? You look different." Charmy said.  
"You can thank G.U.N. for that..........It seems you weren't the only ones to be  
brought out of the game. The barriers between worlds seem to have broken down, so that  
explains how we are now in this world. When I arrived, some military guys brought me  
to their base.....after a little talk, they showed me the light.....and helped out  
by giving me an 'upgrade'."  
"What do you mean by 'upgrade'?" I asked.  
"This," he said pulling of his mask, "I'm now fully cybernetic....and I plan to use it  
to the best of my abilities....by stopping you."  
Charmy looked like she was in shock.  
I went over to comfort her and make sure she was okay.  
"Hah, so that cretin seems to be your new boyfriend, eh? Perhaps he should be the  
first to pay....."  
"I don't think so, you won't be stopping me." I said.  
"Fiesty, aren't you? No wonder she hangs all over you like a lost dog."  
"Nobody, and I mean nobody speaks about Charmy like that." I said.  
  
"What's happening to Ryan?" Emi asked Terry.  
"I'm not sure, I've never seen this before." Terry asked.  
"Um, shouldn't we clue the reader into what's happening?" Johnny said.  
"Oh, right. See, Ryan's seems to be glowing and his arrow is lighting up." Sonic said.  
"Who is this reader?" Rage asked.  
"Look," Emi said ignoring Rage, "the glow is getting brighter."  
Astro seemed to be just a bit worried.  
"Um, dude, why are you glowing?" he asked.  
"Well, shouldn't you know, you did say your precious G.U.N. is the best, right?" I said, walking closer.  
Astro started to freak out.  
"Wait, stop, can't we settle this out some other way?"  
"Sorry, but you work for G.U.N. I'm going to have to destroy you. You are no longer  
Charmy's brother....your just a soulless machine......" I said.  
Charmy began to recover from her shock, and saw me marching towards her brother,   
lightsaber in hand.  
"Ryan? What's going on?" she asked.  
"Charmy, your awake. Something's wrong. Ryan's different somehow, it's like its a  
different him." Emi said.  
"Charmy, you've got to do something to stop him." Terry said.  
  
I walked over and 'Force'-threw him onto the ground.  
"Ready to die?" I asked.  
"Please, mercy....please." Astro begged.  
"Mercy? Has G.U.N. ever showed mercy to the people it hurt, the people they killed!?"  
I shouted.  
I sliced off one of his arm's and he screamed in pain.  
"Not so invincible now, huh?" I said, watching his severed circuits spark and zap.  
"Pleeeease.....merc..c..cy."  
"I've had enough of your incessant chatter." I said, raising my saber above his head.  
Just then, I felt a hand on my shoulder.  
I turned and looked, and saw..."Charmy?"  
"Ryan, what happend to you?" she said.  
"I..I..I.." I couldn't speak, "He's evil, he...he needs to be stopped."  
"Ryan, this isn't the way....Please, he may be evil, but he's still my brother."  
I lowered my saber......  
"Please, do it for me."  
...shut it off, and holstered it.  
  
"Look he's not glowing anymore, and his arrow has stopped flashing." Sonic said.  
The others just looked on.  
"Wow, he was so close and then.....his love for her stopped him." Emi said.  
"He truly is a great warrior, both mind and soul.....just goes to show how strong love  
is..." Terry said.  
I looked down and saw Astro in pain, his arm lying a few inches away from him.  
"My God.....what have I done? What did I do?" I said, on the verge of breaking down.  
"I....I....I....." I said, running off.  
"Ryan, wait!" Charmy said, running after me.  
"Shouldn't we follow them?" Shadow asked.  
"No, the best thing Ryan needs now is Charmy. We must tend to Astro." Terry said,  
"Konsento, I'll need your help....."  
  
I eventually got tired and sat down, breaking down in tears.  
"Oh, God....What did I become?" I said.  
I heard a sound and saw that Charmy had sat down next to me.  
"Ryan....." she said, "are you okay?"  
I stood up, "What do you think? I just lost myself in my anger and nearly iced your   
brother.......I don't deserve someone like you....."  
Charmy stood up and took me in her embrace, wrapping her arms around me.  
"Ryan, don't ever say that. I think it was fate that brought us together....and I'll   
make sure we stay together."  
"But, I...I...almost killed Astro."  
Charmy gave me a kiss..."I love you anyways. I will admit that what he did did deserve  
some of what you did.....but I can forgive you because I love you....Always remember  
that."  
"Charmy...I...I love you, too." I said, giving her a big hug.  
"Now what do you say we head back towards the others?" Charmy asked me.  
"Sure." I said.  
We walked back hand in hand towards the others. (A/N:Wow, who knew I had emotions.:)  
  
The others saw us walking back towards us.  
"Hey, look at the happy couple." Sonic said, trying to get on my nerves.  
"Hmpf, want to make me mad?" I asked, "Remember what happend to Astro?"  
Sonic looked over, saw him banged up, and promptly shut up.  
"You do have a way with words." Charmy said, smiling at me.  
I smiled back and walked over towards Terry and Konsento.  
"So, how's Astro?" I asked.  
"Bzzt...He seems fine now, but DAMN, you knocked the crap out of him." Konsento said.  
"Yeah, but he'll live...look he's regaining consciousness." Terry said.  
Astro opened his eyes and looked at Terry, then Konsento, then Charmy who was grabbing  
onto....me.  
"Ahhh! Get away, don't kill me. Please!!!!!!" Astro said, backing up along the ground.  
"Astro, chill. I'm not going to kill you." I said.  
"Ahhhhhh....Huh? Your not?" he asked.  
"Nope, I see that it wasn't right...besides, that wasn't me." I said.  
  
"Oh," Astro said, flashing an evil grin, "Then take this...."  
"What?!" I said, watching a surge of lightning fly from his hand and then heading   
towards Charmy.  
"Nooooooooooooooo!" I shouted, pushing Charmy out of the way and taking the blow  
myself.  
"Ryannnnnnn!" Charmy screamed, hitting the ground.  
I stood there for a few moments, then collapsed.  
"You Bastard." Charmy said, going over to me, "he spared you and this is how you repay  
him......"  
Charmy picked up my lightsaber and walked over towards Astro.  
"Charmy, what're going to do with that?" Emi asked.  
"What I should've let Ryan do!" she shouted, turning it on.  
"You can't, I'm your brother." Astro said, trying to run.  
"I don't think so." Shadow said, freezing him in place with Chaos Control.  
"You are not my brother! You're too evil to be my brother! DIE!" Charmy said, slicing  
the cybernetic Astro to pieces.  
Charmy turned off the saber and walked back towards me.  
"Ryan, speak to me...Please!!" Charmy said, beating on my chest and crying.  
"No, he can't be gone." she shouted.  
My friends moved around me and couldn't beleive it.  
"He's really gone." Sonic said.  
The others were sad, some were on the verge of tears and the others were crying.  
  
---------------------  
Darkness  
  
'Where am I?' I thought to myself.  
I was falling, but it was pitch dark all around.  
"Charmy? Hello? Is anyone there?"  
No answer, I was alone.  
"No, not again, not this emptiness."  
I kept falling, but then I heard...."Ryan, please, you've got to come back."  
Charmy!  
I looked around for the source of her voice.  
There was a green light shining in the distant.  
"There, she's there." I said, stopping my descent.  
I started flying towards the light.  
"Huh? What's that?" I said, as something blocked my way.  
In front of me was a man dressed in a robe, his head covered by his hood.  
"Who the hell are you?" I asked, drawing my saber.  
"There's no need for that. The door has been opened. The keyhole will be found. Do not  
worry yourself, you will see learn enough. This is your warning....."  
"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked, but he had already disappeared.  
"Strange." I said, heading back towards Charmy's light.  
I entered the light.....  
  
------------------------  
DDRist Kingdom: Cave Depths  
  
"Ryan...." Charmy said, crying into my shirt.  
"Charmy...." Emi said, putting her hand on Charmy's shoulder.  
I blinked my eyes and saw Charmy with her face buried in my shirt.  
"Hey, did I miss something?" I said, trying to make a joke.  
Charmy raised her head, which was covered in tears.  
Everyone else was in shock.  
"R...Ryan?" Charmy asked, "Ryan!!"   
I had sat up, but she knocked me down again.  
"Ryan! Oh! Your alive!" she said, hugging me, kissing me, just showering me with   
attention.  
"Whoa, wait! Can't breathe!" I said as she smothered me with attention.  
After about fifteen minutes later, Charmy finally calmed down.  
"How, Astro hit you directly?" Charmy asked.  
"Well....after I was hit I was falling in a dark void....then I heard your voice..."  
I said, pointing at Charmy, "a green light appeared and I started flying towards it...  
...and then I was back hear, you buried into my shirt."  
"Thank God, it's a miracle." Terry or now Mia said.  
"Perhaps, but I think its just love...." I said, smiling at Charmy, "By the way, what  
happend to Astro?"  
"Well, see that pile of junk over there. That's what's left of him." Mia said.  
"But how, who?" I asked.  
"That would be Charmy." Rage said.  
"She went frickin' crazy when you died, she sliced and diced him like a bell pepper."  
Shadow said.  
  
After we recovered from our little run-ins and continued on through the cave.  
"Hey, that looks like an exit." I said, running towards a tunnels end.  
"Yeah, we made it." We said in unison, seeing the night sky and stars.  
After today, the first thing we wanted to do was....eat, we hadn't in like, crap man, 11 hours.  
After we had our feel, we chatted about the fire a little bit, keepiing warm as the  
night grew colder.  
We soon began to be beckoned by sleep's hypnotic call and one by one, went to our  
sleeping bags.  
Charmy and I went and layed down, keeping warm and just kinda whispering to each other.  
"Ryan, what was it like to die?" she asked.  
"Well...it's hard to explain. It was just an emptiness, a darkness. Void of anything."  
"I missed you."  
"I missed you as well, I never thought I'd return to you.....and the others."  
We hugged each other for awhile, and as usual, she fell asleep before me.  
As she layed their hugging me while she was asleep, I pondered what that hooded man  
meant.  
'The keyhole will be found....The door has been opened'  
"What does it mean?" I asked myself.  
"What does what mean, honey?" Charmy said, half asleep.  
"Oh, nothing love. Just go back to sleep."  
"Okay." she said, and she was asleep like that.  
I listened to the noises of my friends, God can they snore.  
It's like a friggin' forest was falling...  
But then I focused on Charmy's breath, her body warmth filling me with  
a feeling I had never felt before.  
I soon fell asleep and was glad to be alive............ 


	6. Konamixing It Up

DDRist Kingdom: Konamixing It Up  
By  
Sega1cool  
  
  
Disclaimer/AN:/Pointless Rambling: Hey, this story will keep going, so put away the Angel Tears and Silver Lights, cause this story will live on and the magic will  
keep going, Ryan's POV is the standard.......  
  
----------------------  
Next Morning   
  
Out of the ordinary as usual, I was the first to wake.  
I got out of the sleeping bag, careful not to wake Charmy, and stretched.  
I looked over our campsite and saw the others still a snoozin'.  
Emi and Terry were hugging each other, looks like they were up too.  
Man, Terry, Mia and Emi....that's one strange love triangle....Oh, God, Shadow's pervertedness is rubbing off.  
I took a walk and noticed that it looked like it had snowed.  
"Strange, I thought this was a tropical island." I said, clearing a patch of land and  
sitting down.  
Little did I know the evil watching....  
  
----------------------  
Unknown Location  
  
"Hmm, it is disturbing when you think about it." said an egg-shaped villian.  
"What is, Eggman?" responded a green android.  
"They way that Ryan changed like that."  
"So, what is there to worry about?"  
"Lots, Cell. He's bad enough as a hero, even worse when his anger takes over..." said  
Captain Vise of G.U.N.  
"Don't fret," said a man in red clothes, "that fool will never beat me, the great  
Maximillian Konamison."  
"Hey.....what's that supposed to mean?" said a new shadow, this person in green body  
armor and spiky grey hair.  
"Well, Tiesel, I'm the best. He doesn't stand a chance."  
'That Konamison, who does he think he is?' Tiesel thought.  
"Well, you deal with him for now. How goes the process with the other heroes?" said   
the purple reploid.  
"Yes, Vile has a point. I trust your progressing well." said General Mokuvai, "They   
must not be able to contact him."  
"Do not worry, that is what the heartless are for............."  
  
-----------------------  
Back to us  
  
  
I was sitting there, thinking, pondering.  
'If we beat Konamison, we should be able to get our friends back to normal.' I thought  
to myself.  
"But still, if my info is correct, then the others would......"  
"Ryyyyyaaaannnnnn!" Charmy chimed on.  
I laid down and saw her waving from the distance.  
"Hey! Be there in a sec!" I said, running towards her.  
  
I ran back to the camp and, needless to say, Charmy had woke everyone up.  
"Jeez, Ryan...can't you silence your girlfriend?" Sonic asked, covering his head with  
his pillow.  
Shadow just mumbled something incoherent and rolled onto his stomach.  
Emi and Terry stopped cuddling and just had this look of annoyance....  
Sheesh, Charmy's more trouble than she's worth......nah, that's a lie, she's worth all  
the trouble she gives me, I wouldn't have it any other way.  
After everyone had gotten up and ate breakfast, we built a fire to stay warm.  
"Hey, Ryan. If this is a tropical island, how come it's freezing?" Rage asked.  
"Hmmm, I'm not sure, but, and this is just speculation, I think G.U.N. has already  
started toying with nature."  
"Ahhhh, that would make sense."  
  
We decided to move on if we were to make it into the castle soon and end this....we   
wanted our friends back.  
As we walked along, I couldn't help but notice how large our group had gotten.  
Things sure have changed since that fateful day....mostly for the better,(looks at Charmy),  
definitely for the better.  
Rage was the first to notice.....  
"Hey, look! There's another group coming towards us."  
I was trying to see who it was....Oh, God, not her.  
Soon her group and mine met in the middle of the field we were in, also occupied by a  
5th mix machine.  
I tried to push away the anger, I really didn't need to get all possesed by my anger  
again.  
"Ha, so we meet again. It's been awhile, Ryan." the blonde-haired girl said.  
"Yeah, I see you haven't changed at all." I replied.  
"Likewise, your still hanging with pathetic creatures as usual....and who might you be?"  
Charmy realized she was pointing at her.  
"Me? I'm Charmy."  
She looked at Charmy, then at me.  
"Huh? Oh.....I see....so this little "tart" is your new girl, eh? Tch, tch, she must be on you like a poor lost dog." she said.  
"Callie," I said to her, "Nobody and I mean nobody calls her a dog."  
"Better to be a dog, than a bitch!" Charmy responded.  
"That's it!" Callie said, charging towards Charmy.  
Charmy and Callie began to have a cat fight, kicking and scartching and clawing at  
each other.  
"I'll show you who's a bitch!" Callie said, giving Charmy a swift kick.  
Charmy dodged the kick and threw Callie to the ground.  
  
"Ladies! Stop!" I shouted.  
They stopped and the dust cleared.  
Charmy had a good chunk of Callie's hair in her hand and Callie was grabbing onto  
Charmy's shirt, fist back in preparation to punch.  
Callie scampered off towards her 'followers' and I tended to Charmy.  
"Are you okay?" I asked Charmy.  
"Yeah...ow, my leg." she answered, grabbing her right leg.  
"Here let me help you." I said, putting her arm around my neck and helping her hobble   
over to our camp.  
"Ha, your still pathetic Ryan....just like all those years ago." Callie said.  
"At least I've still got my heart, unlike your's which has become cold and hard." I   
said, walking away.  
Callie was speechless as her entourage helped her off.  
  
"So, Ryan, um, who was that?" Terry asked.  
"Well, ya see, about two years ago......and so that's it."  
"Wow, so that was the chick that ripped your heart to pieces." Rage said.  
"You always had a way with words....." I dryly replied.  
"But that doesn't matter now, he's got me and that's all that matters." Charmy said,   
trying to move.  
"Stop moving, Charmy. I'm trying to set your leg so it can heal." I said.  
She smiled, and looked at me.  
"No, I'm won't c...cave. Just let me set it, please?" I replied.  
"Oh, okay. Then you can cave, you big old teddy bear."   
Needless to say, I blushed and finished setting her leg.  
"Now come here." she said, patting the ground next to her.  
I humored her and sat down....she then promptly put a death lock hug on me.  
"Charmy...can't breath...let...up...please...." I said.  
Charmy found this amusing and let me breath.  
  
Emi was looking at Terry.  
"Man, don't you ever act like that, I don't think I could take it." Terry said.  
"Don't worry, I'm more subtle with my emotions." Emi said, giving Terry a big hug.  
"Phew, Ryan is really roughed up by Charmy." Terry said, hugging her back and then sighing.  
"Frankly, I think he likes getting roughed up by her." Emi said with a laugh.  
Terry found this a bit odd, but they seemed to get along fine, so he thought it worked.  
"Oh, well. He's happy, so I guess that's all that matters, even if Charmy is just a   
bit rough with him." Terry said.  
Emi stifled a laugh.  
  
We relaxed and kept warm by the fire, since the sun was hidden by clouds.  
I don't know what Emi and Terry were whispering too each other, but it more than   
likely had to do with me and Charmy.  
I know she does seem a bit rough, but I think that's what makes her her, ya know.  
I started to feel sleepy....  
"Man, I need a nap." I told Charmy, still locked tightly to my arm.  
"Well, then let's take one." she said, that sparkle her eye.  
"*sigh* Okay, but please, let go of my arm. It's turning blue for goodness sake."  
Charmy let go and my arm went numb from the circulation returning.  
  
I wasn't sure how long we had been asleep.  
I opened my eyes and turned my head, looking around.  
Their was only a lone figure sitting by the fire.  
I got up, not making too much movement, and walked towards the fire.  
It was Terry.  
"Yo, Terry, what's up?"  
"Oh, hey, have a good nap?"  
"Yeah, slept like a baby."  
I saw Terry smile and start to say something.  
"No...stop, don't even finish that."  
"What?"  
"I know what you were going to say, so don't?"  
"Well, then answer me this. Why do you let her be so rough?"  
"Hmmm, well, I don't know. It's just how she is, right?"  
"Right.....I just think you like being roughed around."  
"What? Well...maybe, just a bit. 'Least I'm happy, though."  
"Yeah, too bad it took so long. You did have to deal with that 'blondie'..."  
"....*heavy sigh*....Yeah, till Charmy came along, I was all alone....really too  
fragile after Callie broke my heart...but I'm glad she came along.^_^"  
We talked for awhile till Terry changed back into Mia.  
We decided to hit the sack.  
  
I looked around and saw that the others had gone to bed early.  
"Wow, that's bizarre. Brrr, really wish I knew what was going on with the weather."  
I said, shivering.  
I made my way to the sleeping bag as fast as possible, got in, and zipped up the  
bag.  
I started to shiver, trying to get warm.  
Thankfully, Charmy's warmth helped quite a bit.  
I started to slip into the unconsciousness of sleep.....  
  
----------------------------  
Inside My Unconscious  
  
"Where?" I said, waking up somewhere strange.  
A guy who liked exactly like me, except he was wearing a pair of shades, walked towards me.  
"Who the hell are you?" I asked.  
"Why, I'm you...at least another you."  
"Another me?"  
"Just call me 'Dark Ryan'." said Dark Ryan.  
"Right, so what do you want?"  
"To warn you."  
"About what?"  
"Well, me and the other you's have seen stuff, images from your unconscious...and they  
aren't nice...."  
"What do you mean?"  
"...If I told you, then it would ruin everything. Just beware the future...."  
  
----------------------------  
Early Morning  
  
I had awoken, worried and puzzled.  
What had that other me meant when he said 'images' and other things?  
Was it a warning?  
Was something bad going to happen soon?  
Well, all I know is, when we beat Konamison, then maybe things will come to light...... 


	7. Final Destination

DDRist Kingdom: Final Destination  
By  
Sega1cool  
  
  
AN/Disclaimer/Blah,Blah,Blah.....: So, it comes to this.....Ryan's POV and the beginning of an ending and the ending of a beginning.  
  
  
------------------------  
Morning: Outside Castle  
  
  
This was it, we had finally made it to the castle.  
"So, who all is going to battle?" I asked.  
Most looked at me and Terry and said no way.  
"So, you mean that just me and Terry are entering?"  
They agreed, saying we had the best chance to win and save our friends.  
  
We approached the grand door to the castle.  
"Strange, there's no guards or anything. It's almost like they want us to come."  
There was a sign with directions.  
"So, we put our ten chips in like this.....and then turn." I said, nothing happend.  
"Here, I'll put mine in." Terry said, putting his over mine.  
He pushed on the knob.....and it went in.   
He opened the door.  
"Allright, let's go." I said.  
  
All of us walked through and were greeted by Konamison's assistant.  
"Welcome and thank you for your patience. If you follow me, we will begin."  
We followed this guy to a new room, on a balcony overlooking a floor.  
We waited for awhile, almost falling asleep.  
Just then, Konamison entered.  
"Ah, welcome my two finalists. Your duel will show who will fight me for the chance to  
win it all. Now, unlike what you've been doing, these battles will be more interesting."  
Konamison snapped his fingers and an electronic field appeared. On each side was a DDR  
machine, a small monitor, and a electronic laced board on an table.  
"You will use these," he said, holding up a deck of cards, "this is DDR battle. Each  
person has a deck of sixty cards. These include character, bonus, extra, and other  
miscellaneous cards. The trick is you draw a card, lay down a character card and based  
on your performance on the song you choose, Attack and Defense will be based on your Perfects and Greats times 10 and 100, respectively. Your life points are now 2000,   
but that  
means the game is now increasingly harder. Oh, and depending on preference, it can be  
single versus single, or Double versus Double, whatever your preference. Now, rest up  
and be prepared, tommorow, you start the duel and one of you will face me....."  
  
We sat in the main room between all of our rooms and chatted.  
"Dude, that Konamison dude is a bit creepy." Rage said.  
"Yeah, no doubt." Emi replied.  
"Well, I think that this is going to be one interesting finale." Mia said, having   
swapped with Terry.  
"Yeah," I said, "but considering this is based on DDR, the characters are probably  
those from DDR."  
"So, what you're saying is that are 'personas' for a lack of a better term, will fight  
each other?" Johnny asked.  
"Yeah, pretty much." I replied.  
I looked at the clock.  
"Wow, we've been talking for almost 4 hours." I said.  
"Well, you better get your sleep." Charmy said, "I'd hate for you to lose because your  
tired."  
"Hey, I'm the Ultimate DDRist. Sleep is not something I have to worry about." I said,  
arrogant as always.  
"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Mia said, "It's best I get to bed as well. I'd hate for Terry  
to suffer because I didn't get any sleep."  
We each went to our rooms.  
  
------------------------  
Mine and Charmy's Room  
  
I held my deck in my hand and was laying my cards out on the table.  
"Wow, look. Here's my card." Charmy said, holding up a card with her in her 4th mix  
outfit.  
"Yeah, I've also got your 3rd mix and 5th mix cards as well."  
"Seems that Konamison knows what you like..." Charmy said with a smile.  
"^_^' Yeah, he did give off a feeling as if he knew what I was doing before I did it."  
"What else do you have?"  
"Well," I said, "there's a 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 7th mix cards. I'm guessing they're some  
kind of bonus cards. Add power or defense more than likely."  
"Oh, hey who are these guys?" Charmy said, holding up two character cards.  
"Holy shit, it's U1 and 2MB. Those are like the rarest characters in DDR. They're   
probably the strongest characters in the game."  
"Man, there's so much to DDR I didn't know." Charmy said.  
"Yeah, and there's too much of DDR that I know." I said.  
I finished going over my deck, and me and Charmy settled into 'cuddle' mode and soon  
were asleep.  
  
-----------------------  
Terry's/Mia's Room  
  
Mia was sitting at the table, a mirror across from her.  
"So, let's look over this deck." Mia said.  
In the mirror was Terry, or rather his reflection.  
"Okay, lay out the cards and let's see what we've got." Terry said.  
"Hmm, here's three you'd like." Mia said, holding up three familiar cards.  
"Interesting, Emi from 3rd, 4th, and 5th. What a coincidence."  
"I've never seen this person before." Mia said.  
"Ah, the Disc's." Terry said, "Disc:A and Disc:B."  
"Disc creatures?"  
"They're pretty much robots, they were only in 3rd mix, but they were pretty  
interesting. Once you got the combos rolling, their entire body glowed."  
"Ah, cool. They should be helpful in your duel against Ryan."  
"Yeah, it's kinda weird, battling a friend, ya know. I always did have a feeling that  
it might come to this."  
"He'll give his all, Terry. You'll need to give your all as well."  
"Right Mia."  
Mia finished putting the deck back in order and then went to bed.  
  
-------------------------  
Next Morning: DDR Finals  
  
I awoke to the sunlight shining through my window.  
"*yawn* Well, today's the day. Time to take on Terry....this won't be easy." I said, getting out of bed and stretching.  
Charmy woke up and stretched as well.  
"Morning!" she said, her usual smile across her face.  
"Morning, Charmy. Nice to be inside away from the cold for once, eh?" I said.  
"Yeah, but I still needed my 'teddy bear'." she said, teasing me.  
"Hey...stop that...come on, we're going to be late." I said, going through the door.  
  
We met Terry and the others on the way towards the arena.  
"So, today's the day, huh?" Rage said.  
"Yep, seems like only yesterday we started this adventure....and now it'll soon come  
to a close." I said, 'If only they knew....' I thought to myself.  
"Well," Terry said, "you better give it all you've got, cause I will."  
"Don't worry, I'll give you a challenge worthy of a finale."  
Terry and I split off towards the bottom of the arena while the others went to the  
balcony.  
  
"Welcome and good morning, players." Konamison said, seated in his chair overlooking  
the field, "So it comes to this. Two of DDR's best facing each other...and what makes  
it even more interesting is that you two are friends....hmm...will their friendship  
stay true or will one give it all to win? Oh, I get goosebumps just thinking about it.  
You all know the rules for 'DDR Battle' so good luck and I await the winner."  
  
"So," I said, getting onto my machine, "you ready?"  
"I was born ready." Terry said, getting on his machine.  
We placed our decks on our seperate fields and began the battle.....  
  
Terry and I each drew four cards to begin with.  
Terry's hand:Emi(3rd Mix), 4th mix machine, Freeze Arrow, and Disc:A.  
'Allright, this should be a good hand for now.'  
"I lay down this card face down and choose my song."  
Terry choose 'Afronova' and went at it....  
....the result screen came up.  
"210 Perfects and 20 Greats. Allright." Terry said, flipping over his card.  
  
"I should have seen this one coming." I said, as his character was Emi in her 3rd mix  
outfit.  
My hand: Charmy(4th Mix), 4th Mix machine, Gallop Step, and Roulette.  
'Hmmm, I've got a good counter to this.'  
"I lay this one face down, and I lay another face down."  
I choose my song, my signature song 'B4U'.....  
....the result screen came up.  
"200 Pefects and 25 Greats...Time to call on her." I said, flipping over Charmy's card.  
  
"I should have seen you do that, but she's not strong enough to beat Emi." Terry said.  
I shook my head,"Tch, tch, you should know better than to get cocky." I said, flipping  
over the 4th mix card.  
"What does that do?" Terry asked.  
"Since this Charmy is from 4th mix, then using her home machine gives her a power bonus."  
Charmy's attack raised to 2300 and was therfore stronger than Emi.  
"Say goodbye to Emi....now that sounded akward...Charmy use 'Ray Zap'."  
Charmy pulled a Ray Gun from out of her pocket and fired at Emi.  
"Nooooo." Terry said as Emi was zapped, thus being eliminated.  
  
"That leaves you at 1400 life points, dude." I said.  
"Yeah, wait to go Ryan!" Charmy shouted from up on the balcony.  
"You can do it Terry, don't give up!" Emi shouted from up on the balcony as well.  
Charmy and Emi stared at each other.  
"Ryan!"  
"Terry!"  
"Ryan!"  
"Terry!"  
"Ryan!"  
"Terry!"  
"Ryan!"  
"Terry!"  
"Ryan!"  
"Terry!"  
"Ryan!"  
"Terry!"  
"Ladies, please, stop this bickering." Rage said, trying to stop them.  
They both looked at Rage and Rage backed away quickly, as they were giving him the 'look'...you know, the 'look'.  
  
Meanwhile,  
'I need to draw a new card that will help.'  
Terry drew a new card...."Ah, this'll help."  
Terry placed the card down and picked his next song, 'Bumblebee'....  
....result screen came up.  
"180 Perfects, 19 Greats." Terry said, flipping over his card.  
"No way, how?" I said, seeing Disc:A appearing.  
"Ha, now try and win." Terry said.  
'Hmm,' I thought, 'something's up. His stats are lower, what could he be up to?'  
"Okay then, Charmy attack Disc:A with 'Ray Zap'." I said.  
"Ha, you fell for my trap." Terry said, turning over a card he had face down.  
Charmy then froze in place.  
"What?" I asked.  
"Well, this is Freeze Arrow, a trap card, it freezes your character and reduces their  
attack power by 600, dropping her's to 1700. Disc:A use 'Spring Squeeze' and beat down  
Charmy."  
"No, Damn!" I said as Disc:A wrapped around Charmy and squezeed her out of existence.  
My life points dropped to 1300.  
"Not bad, but you've yet to see my true powers." I said.  
'I need to draw one of the two to get into this.'  
I drew my next two cards....'Hmm, Charmy(5th Mix), and yes, this is the card I needed.'  
"You may have frozen my Charmy, but now I'll annihalate your disc." I said, laying the  
card down and selecting the next song, 'Dam Dariram (KCP Mix)'..  
...result screen came up.  
"180 Perfects, but 75 Greats." I said, turning over the card revealing....  
"Who is that?" Terry asked.  
"Let me introduce you to 2MB." I said.  
"So what, his attack power is the same as Disc:A's." Terry said.  
"Go ahead and attack if you wish....." I said.  
  
"Fine, Disc:A use 'Spring Squeeze' and annihilate that shadow."  
Disc:A attempted to squeeze him, but in turn was sucked into 2MB's shadowy presence.  
"What?" Terry said, noticing his life points dwindle to 500.  
"Oh, I forgot to mention....2MB's special ability to absorb other characters."  
"But their attack power was equal..."  
"You can thank this, " I said, holding up the Gallop Card, "this gives 2MB a whopping 600 attack bonus."  
  
'Hmmm, very impressive, Ryan.' Konamison thought, 'Quite a good draw to get such a rare card.'  
"So, what're you going to do now?" I said to Terry.  
'Pray.' he thought to himself.  
Terry drew another card...."Ah, yes, this one."  
Terry choose to Roulette the next song....the roulette slowed and landed on 'Cowgirl'....  
....resutls appeared.  
"230 Perfects and 20 Greats." Terry said, flipping over the card revealing....  
"...Disc:B.." I said, "Disk:A didn't do too well, how do you think she'll help you?"  
"Then attack and let's see what 2MB has." Terry said.  
"Fine, 2MB use 'Shadow Blast' and unwind that Disc:B."  
2MB charged and turned into a formless, dark mass of energy.  
2MB hit, but Disc:B disappated 2MB.  
"How?!" I asked, my life points dropping to 300.  
  
"Disc:A and Disc:B are linked. Since you destroyed Disc:A, Disc:B gained a power bonus  
from his essence, making it 2600."  
'Oh no, he's got me on the ropes.....I must get myself together.' I thought.  
I drew my next three cards.....'Well, let's see 5th mix machine, Turbo skates, and....  
yes, now I will win.'  
"Prepare to lose my friends." I said, laying down three cards, one character and two  
others.  
I choose the one song that could help me.....but it wasn't there.  
"Oh, I forgot to mention," Konamison interupted, "no long version can be used. That   
would lead to some messy issues in overpowering...sorry."  
'Damn!, now what?'  
I looked at Charmy, she could tell I was in trouble.  
What song was I going to choose?  
If I didn't pick right, this was the end.  
Then it hit me, the perfect song.....'Look To The Sky'...but on Trick....  
....results came up.  
"125 Perfects, 20 Greats."  
  
"Ha, that won't help you." Terry said, not noticing something.  
"I wouldn't be quite so sure, I choose Trick for a reason." I said.  
Charmy seemed to know what's going on.  
"Charmy, what's he babbling about?" Sonic asked.  
"Well, you saw that he freestyled, right....and he has those two other cards...trust me, this will be good."  
I showed my character, Charmy from 5th Mix.  
"Ha, so predictable." Terry said.  
I started to laugh, "You still don't see it....I also play the 5th mix card, raising  
her attack power to 1750, and I also use this card, the Turbo Skates, to increase her  
attack power to 2100 and my freestyling gave her an additional 300 attack power."  
"So, that's still only 2400, not enough."  
"But there is still this one card.....this will change the tide of battle....I lifted  
the card, flipped it over and revealed the 'Ultimate Arrow' card.  
"This card gives any character the power of all previous characters, making Charmy's   
an unstoppable 4000."  
"Then I've lost." Terry said, his eyes starting to tear up, "Finish Ryan, do it."  
"I'm sorry Terry. Charmy, 'Speed Kick Flash'!"  
Charmy dashed in and delivered a fatal kick to Disc:B, turning the over-grown slinky  
into dust.  
Terry's life points dropped to 0.  
  
Afterwards, we were outside the arena talking.  
Terry and I shook hands.  
"Congrats, man. Looks like you are the Ultimate DDRist." Terry said.  
"Yeah, whatever. You gave me a run for my money." I said.  
"Just don't lose to Konamison. We've got some big things riding on it."  
"Right, I won't lose to him."  
  
A few minutes later, after recouping from the last battle, I reenterd the arena to face Konamison.  
"Ah, so I finally get to face you, the great Ryan."  
"I won't go easy on you."  
"Oh, I wouldn't expect you to." Konamison said, "Are you ready?"  
"First things first, I've been onto you ever since the beginning....."  
  
The others were puzzled.  
"What's he talking about?" Charmy asked.  
"Don't know, let's listen." Terry answered.  
  
"If I win, I want you to set our friends free, and disban G.U.N."  
"So, you've figured me out, eh?"  
"It wasn't too hard."  
"Fine, but if I win....."  
".....oh, let me guess, you want my Millenium Arrow."  
"Your quick, Ryan, I'll have to be quicker than."  
  
We started our match, this time doing a Doubles battle.  
We drew our first hand.  
My hand: Charmy(3rd Mix), Freeze Arrow, U1, and PS2.  
'PS2?'  
Konamison drew his hand:*blocks them from author's view*  
(A:Hey, you can't do that. Konamison: I just did, now get on with the story. A: Stupid  
characters...)  
Konamison layed one card down and then choose his first song, 'Breakdown'....  
....result screen came up.  
"235 Perfects and 18 Greats." Konamison said, showing he had drawn.....  
"...Terry?" I said, seeing a version of him appear on the field.  
"Yes, this is from my special deck." Konamison said.  
My turn.  
I layed down two cards and selected my song, 'Candy (Vocal)'....  
....result screen.  
"220 Perfects and 21 Greats." I said turning over the card revealing U1.  
  
Konamison laughed, "Hahaha, you won't beat me with that."  
"Then bring it." I said.  
Konamison attacked, "Terry, use 'Dancing Slash'."  
Terry pulled out his saber and charged U1.  
"I don't think so." I said, flipping over the PS2 card.  
U1 donned some kind of electronic suit and deflected the saber attack, sending right   
back at Terry his own attack.  
Terry screamed in pain as he was sliced by his own saber, bringing down Konamison's  
life points to 1000.  
"Very nice, Ryan. I would've expected nothing less....but it is far from over."  
Konamison said, drawing some new cards.  
  
"Ah, I'll place these two face down."  
Konamison selected his next song, 'D2R'...  
....results came up.  
"200 Perfects and 14 Greats." he said, revealing his next card....  
"Oh, God, now Sonic?" I said.  
"There are many things you've yet to see." Konamison said.  
"Now take this, Sonic attack U1 with 'Spin Slash Dash'."  
The Sonic copycat curled up and spun like a saw blade, slashing my 'mecha'U1 to pieces.  
"Damn, that drops me to 900."  
  
"It's time I did what I came for and the whole reason I created this tournament....To  
steal your Millenium arrow..." Konamison said as a black mist surronded the arena.  
"What the...?" I said, as we were hidden withing this mist.  
  
---------------------------  
Inside the Mist  
  
  
"Where are we?" I asked Konamison.  
"We are in the darkness between dimensions, a fitting place for your end."  
"We'll see about that."  
I drew a new card, 'Huh? This is impossible...this...this card is...'  
I smiled, "It doesn't matter how powerful you are, Konamison. I have a power greater than anything...."  
"And what might that be?" he asked.  
"You will see soon enough."  
I looked at my four cards, this was the perfect attack. I only had one chance.  
I choose the one song I knew I could AA, 'Can't Stop Fallin' In Love (Speed Mix)'....  
....when the results came up, I couldn't beleive it...  
"300 Perfects and 14 Greats.....time to finish this." I said, flipping over the two  
cards.  
One was Charmy from 5th mix......  
"That was expected." Konamison said.  
"But I bet this wasn't..." I said, throwing down....  
"Impossible, this cannot be!" Konamison said in surprise.  
"Me!" I said, as a duplicate of me appeared on the battle field.  
  
"Ha, that power still won't stop my suped up Sonic. Hahahaha! I'm afraid you've lost."  
"Oh, I wouldn't say that." I said picking up another one of my face down cards...."The  
Couple Mode....allowing both Me and Charmy to execute a finishing combo blow and with  
the 'Passion of Dancing' card maxing our attack power at 4000 each, this gives new   
meaning to overkill. Charmy and Ryan, take that hedgehog down with 'Dual Dance Drop Kick'!"  
The duplicate Charmy and Ryan held hands and charged the Sonic duplicate, jumping high  
into the air and coming down with a super-charged double drop kick that flattened the  
hedgehog doppleganger and wiped out all of Konamison's remaining lifepoints.  
"Noooooo! I've been beaten!" Konamison said, the black mist retreating.  
  
"Look," Terry said, "the mist is disappearing."  
"And it looks as if Ryan won." Emi said.  
"I knew he would, I had a feeling about it." Charmy said.  
  
Konamison was collapsed against the wall, he appeared to be fading away.  
"You fool, you may have beaten me, but at what price?"  
"What do you mean?" I asked.  
"You should know, I am G.U.N. G.U.N. is merely creations from me, when I go, they go."  
"But isn't that a good thing?" Emi asked me.  
"Too bad I won't be around to see this." Konamison said, breathing his last.  
I walked over to his empty clothes and picked up his millenium arrow.  
"Here." I said, handing it to Terry, "I hope it helps you and Mia."  
"Thanks, man, but what was he babbling about?" Terry asked me.  
  
I sighed heavily.  
"First things first, let's head back to my house and get away from here."  
They agreed and we made our way to the pier and boarded the boat back to the mainland.  
  
-----------------------------  
My house  
  
We were all gathered in the living room.  
"Okay, now will you tell us what Konamison meant?" Emi asked.  
"Well, your not going to like it, but here goes.....you see, awhile back, I discovered  
that G.U.N. was merely an illusion created by Konamison. While they were fake, they   
still did things that were seen as real and in fact were. With him gone, G.U.N. will  
vanish and be gone forever....."  
"Okay, then why did you say we're not going to like it?" Charmy asked.  
"Because that means the breakdown between dimensions will be restored. That means all  
seven of you will be going back."  
"Seven?" Rage asked.  
"Yes, or rather eight. You see...I found out your little secret Terry, your not from   
this Earth...your from an alternate one called Lunar."  
"How?" Terry asked.  
"Remember when we first met and I scanned your thoughts...that's when I found out."  
"But then why didn't you say anything?" he asked.  
"Because it didn't seem necessary at the time." I answered.  
"Wait, does that mean that...." Charmy started to say but couldn't finish.  
  
"Yes," I said, starting to tear at the eyes, "that means that all of you will be returning as well."  
"NO! I can't, I won't leave you!" Charmy said, latching on to me.  
"I'm sorry, Charmy. There's nothing I can do. I don't want to lose you, too. I can't  
take being away from you, to lose love again...." I started to almost cry, but caught  
myself.  
"Yo, it's happening." Johnny said, his arm turning see-through.  
"Johnny, no."  
"See you on the other siidddeeee........"  
The others started to go, one by one.  
"Ryan, I'll use my magic to give you enough time with Charmy, but be quick, I'm not  
sure how long it'll last after I'm gone." Mia said.  
"Thanks and farewell. Good luck in getting back to normal."  
Mia/Terry disappeared and it was just me and Charmy.  
  
Charmy was crying, she didn't want to go.  
I didn't want her to go, too.  
"Charmy, before you leave, I want you to have this...to remember me by." I said, placing my Millenium Arrow around her neck.  
"But Ryan, won't you need this?"  
"No, best you have it where no one can get it, than for it to be here and fall into the wrong hands."  
"Then, I want you to have this." she said, taking off her bowtie and putting it on me.  
"Never forget me, I'll always love you." Charmy said.  
"And I'll always love you, till the day I die and beyond." I said.  
We held each other for the longest time, tears running down our cheeks.  
Then she started to fade from sight.  
"Charmy, don't go!"  
"I'm sorry, Ryan. I love you!" she said, vanishing.  
"No,No,No....CHARMY!" I shouted, my voice echoing through my empty house.  
  
-------------------------  
EPILOGUE  
  
  
That was nearly a year ago. I still play DDR, always wondering how the gang is doing.  
Mia had tried to create gaps in dimensions to see us, but eventually she became too  
discouraged after failing so many times, and the few times she did, it lasted very shortly.  
I miss Charmy, and its been hard not having her through this year.  
As for G.U.N., the govt. created some B.S. coverup as to the disappearance.  
They said some freak storm wiped out the entire base.  
Only I know what happend for real, as well as Sonic and Shadow.  
Speaking of those two, they've become quite the heroes lately, they've already saved  
Earth twice....with my help, of course.  
I think back to that day, when it all started.....I can still see her face, that  
charming smile, her interesting hair style and her love that completed me.  
Perhaps, one day, I will see her again...but until then, I live my life, never forgetting the one who truly loved me and opened my heart......  
  
  
  
  
  
(A/N: However, Ryan's adventure is not over......this is merely an end to a beginning  
and a beginning to a new adventure.....Stay tuned for the next story in this series: DDR HEARTS.........'You never know, what will happen, the next time'.........) 


End file.
